Back Bay Grill, 65 Portland St.: Chef Larry Matthews is serving two strawberry desserts. One is a local strawberry shortcake with vanilla bean whipped cream and strawberry sorbet. The other choice is vanilla panna cotta, strawberry and rose water consomme, walnut and orange madeleine.

The Salt Exchange, 245 Commercial St.: Sous chef Kimmo Meronen will be making seared duck breast with strawberry sauce. The strawberry sauce is made with strawberries, ginger, serrano chile and balsamic vinegar.

The Kennebunk Inn and Academe Brasserie, 45 Main St.: Chef/owner Shanna O’Hea says she likes to make strawberry gazpacho “wonderful with the addition of tomatoes, red, green, jalapeno peppers, onion, garlic and olive oil. We puree it smooth, strain out the strawberry seeds and serve it beautifully chilled with shaved frozen goat cheese and balsamic gel.”

For a sweet dish, she draws upon her memories of working in London and makes a strawberry fool. She crushes Maine strawberries by hand into a lightly sweetened whipped cream, then finishes the dish with strawberry puree accented with rose water. “Although this is a very classic dessert, I modernize it by pairing it with a lemon basil shortbread for added texture and herbaceous taste,” O’Hea says.

50 Local, 50 Main St.: Chef David Ross is offering a caramelized white chocolate and strawberry panna cotta with strawberry gelee and basil.

CAPE ELIZABETH

Sea Glass at Inn by the Sea, 40 Bowery Beach Road: Pastry chef Karen Toner is doing a twist on strawberry shortcake. She bakes her grandmother’s traditional biscuit recipe, then roasts the strawberries, which creates a rich syrup that seeps into the biscuit and intensifies and seals the flavor of the berries. She then tops the biscuit with the chilled, roasted strawberries, adds fresh whipped cream and serves the shortcake with house-made strawberry sorbet and house-made mint gelee. The inn is also serving two strawberry cocktails in June – a strawberry mojito and a cocktail called “Farm Fresh Strawberry” made with strawberry-infused rum, lime juice and simple syrup.

SCARBOROUGH

Black Point Inn, 510 Black Point Road, Prout’s Neck: Mercedes Foster, pastry chef at the inn, is using strawberries from Maxwell’s Farm to produce a chilled, layered dessert that is a play on strawberries and cream. They are calling it a strawberry neopolitan and serving it with a milk crumble.

Here at MaineToday Media we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion.

To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use. Click here to flag and report a comment that violates our terms of use.